1. Teleconferences will be the norm
The past decade moved gradually from mobile phones and PCs to smart phones, and then the pace of change picked up dramatically so many of you will be reading this on a tablet or even the latest screen-based viewing gadget, a phablet. If this pace of change keeps going, we will be viewing information on a Google Glass or even virtually.
South Korea, Taiwan and other technology centres will benefit greatly from our greater and better use of technology.
2. The middle classes – spenders and savers – will represent one-third of the world’s population
China will be even closer to being the world’s largest economy and will surely move out of its ‘emerging’ status into developed market indices; India’s influence will be far more advanced than it is today; we will stop talking about ‘developed’ or ‘emerging’ and different combinations of single country funds will be more prevalent.
3. Sicavs will replace Oeics
We will move towards regulation that makes it easier to do business across a wider audience, with Europe becoming more of a focus; we will be infinitely – though not at – a genuine single European investment market; Asia will open up further as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Connect is copied and expanded.
4. Predictive data not predictive text
‘Big data’ is either going to be the world’s worst superhero or the next big thing. Your money is on the latter as the demand for capturing, analysing and then using data more effectively and efficiently will become a key part of any client-focused industry in the decade ahead.
5. And hover boards…
One or two of you (ok, or three of us…) are harking Back to the Future and still want hover boards. Beyond this, there are so many unknown unknowns that the next 10 years could bring us all manner of new technologies, ideas, trends and even modes of transport.
Here is to Last Word leading the way in some of them and working with you in all of them!
